My office mate and I joke about how satisfying it is to cross something off a to-do list. Both of us have added something we’ve already done to a list merely for the pleasure of crossing it off.

It’s funny at work, but I can’t shake the feeling that a large part of the disappointment about the Illinois Legislature not enacting pension reform legislation is about not getting something done.

Never mind that the pension reform plan that came closest to passing would have been a staggering body blow to current and future public sector workers who have never, ever missed paying their fair share into the state’s pension systems.